It’s the most wonderful time of the year and we’ve decided to feature some of our favorite Christmas movies. This post is dedicated to the ones you’ve probably never seen.

1. Remember the Night (1940) – I just discovered this little gem last year on Turner Classic Movies. How it’s not a perennial  holiday classic is beyond me. Barbara Stanwyck is arrested for shoplifting on Christmas Eve. The straight arrow district attorney (played by Fred MacMurray) arranges for her bail and she ends up going home with him for Christmas with his family. Written by the incredible Preston Sturges, Remember the Night is a screwball Christmas comedy that you must add to your yearly Christmas movie watching. It’s playing on TCM on Christmas Eve at 8pm EST. It’s also available on DVD exclusively from TCM.

2. Star in the Night (1945) - This is a 22 minute short put out by Warner Brothers in 1945.  It’s a modern day (for the time) retelling of the birth of Christ. It’s told from the innkeepers point of view. In this he’s a roadside motel owner who has lost his faith in mankind. A drifter tries to prove him wrong, but the people staying at the motel are left wanting. It’s not until a young married couple great with child arrive that the motel owner sees the good in mankind.  You’ll have to be vigilant to catch this one on TCM.  They usually play it several times this during Christmas season, but it’s filler content and never on their schedule.  It is however available as a special feature on the DVD release of Christmas in Connecticut. Which brings me to…

3. Christmas in Connecticut (1945) - Stanwyck again stars in this one. She plays a single New York City food columnist that can’t even boil an egg. In her columns she spins wild yarns about her picturesque life as a wife and mother on a farm.  When her editor decides that a returning war hero should spend Christmas with her on the farm, Stanwyck has to play the part without being found out. I had heard of this movie for a long time, but didn’t see it until last year.  It’s been added to my yearly must watch list. It’s airing on TCM on Dec 17 at 8pm EST and Christmas day at 12:15pm EST.

4. Holiday Inn (1942) - Not nearly as good as the movie White Christmas, but this is the movie that gave us the song White Christmas.  It’s about an inn that’s only open on the holidays.  It’s got some great songs and a nice backstage story that was the staple of musicals of the era.

5. Three Godfathers (1948) - This might have the distinction of being the only Christmas Western. It’s certainly the only one staring John Wayne and directed by the incomparable John Ford.  It’s about three outlaws on the run at Christmas who find a dying woman and her baby in the desert.  They vow to take the baby safely across the desert even though it means going back into danger themselves. Good movie.

Let us know what your favorite obscure Christmas movies are.

Update: I can’t believe I forgot to include The Lemon Drop Kid (1951)
on the list.  It stars Bob Hope as a guy who owes the mob $10,000 by Christmas day. What better way to get the money than by dressing up as Santa and collecting donations for an old folks home? This film introduced the Christmas classic, Silver Bells.